Low temperature polysilicon growth on glass suitable for TFT fabrication

Polysilicon films are grown on ordinary glass substrates at temperatures as low as 380°C using a novel ultraviolet assisted metal-induced-crystallization technique. The silicon films grown using this method are suitable for the fabrication of thin film transistors. Samples prepared, consist of 1500 Å of silicon film deposited on 1000 Å silicon nitride and 2000 Å of chromium layers, and Ni is used as the seed for crystallization. Annealing occurred in the presence of an ultra-violet exposure and led to a high crystallinity silicon film as examined using XRD and SEM. The lateral growth as the main feature of this technique is presented using optical microscopy analysis. The preliminary results of transistor fabrication on ordinary glass is reported. Transistors fabricated using this technique show a hole mobility of 50 cm²/Vs.